I am from the Netherlands. Even though we were and maybe still are ahead in gay equality, moronic religious freaks are everywhere. This is something coming from the Dutch bible belt which you can compare with Mormon/Amish

Well in the Netherlands everybody is required to hold health insurance (either privately or government assisted) and in case of illness, claims are made to one’s health insurance company which insures people for most medical and psychological treatment.

It wasn’t as if the gay ‘conversion therapy’ was being offered wholesale by hospitals or doctors. Vulnerable people were being bullied by their churches (usually) into taking this ‘therapy’ and claiming the cost back on their health insurance.

And as it was deemed a psychological treatment, then the health insurance companies covered it.

This new law seems to state that health insurance companies are not longer allowed to reimburse costs for ‘conversion therapy’.

Which is a good thing, as it means people will be less willing to pay for dangerous treatment like ‘conversion therapy’ if they know their health insurance will not cover it.

In the diagnosis-treatment system used here in the Netherlands there is no such thing as a cure for homosexuality. So it was administratively fudged a bit and therefore fly under the radar for so long.
Glad the loophole is closed but there still remains a need for counselling for those poor souls. Not all of it can be handled by pastors, in all probablilty.

The world’s most gay-friendly nation has become even more gay-friendly. I hope that the NHS and all other state-run health services around the world follow suit and stop offering quack medicine and concentrate on real problems such as cancer, heart disease and HIV.

These anti-gay Christian psychiatrist are insane, they electric shock the penis of gay children to “make them straight”, this is really torture of a child and these anti-gay Christian psychiatrist need to be arrested and put in jail for crimes against humanity. These tortured gay children end up killing themselves as a result of all the harm these evil anti-gay Christian psychiatrist do to them.

Paul, are you sure you aren’t engaging in a little hyperbole here. I have never heard of any ex-gay ministery (such as Exodus) actually doing what you suggest. I’ve heard that (laughably) they tell guys to snap a rubber band on their wrist if they feel any same sex attractions. Sure you aren’t thinking of Abu Ghraib?

Please provide links to substantive documentation indicating which ex-gay therapists are currently using this kind of torture treatment.

(From May 23)
Gay ‘cure’ therapist loses appeal against suspension.
A Christian psychotherapist has lost her appeal against suspension from her professional body after being struck off after attempting to convert a homosexual man to heterosexuality.
In 2009, campaigning journalist Patrick Strudwick used hidden tape recorders to catch Christian therapist Lesley Pilkington, who believes that homosexuality is sinful, offering to “cure” him using methods that have been condemned as dangerous.

However, as counselling and psychotherapy is unregulated in the UK, Mrs Pilkington is still free to offer such services, but can no longer claim senior accredited status of the BACP.
Stephen Evans, Campaigns Manager at the National Secular Society said Mrs Pilkington was “guilty of religiously inspired bigotry parading as psychotherapy.”
He said: “There is no question of her religious freedoms being impeded. The important factor in the delivery of any therapy or counselling is that the professional providing the service adheres to their professional code of conduct. Mrs Pilkington clearly believes her religious beliefs are far more important than any code of conduct, which is why the BACP Governing body found unanimously that she was guilty of professional malpractice.”http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2012/05/gay-cure-therapist-loses-appeal-against-suspension

Let’s all just take a moment to look up the definition of repress and laugh heartily at this line.

How in the world do you sell repression to people?

“Sir! Sir! Please, a moment of your time. Are you finding that your emotions just bubble to the surface naturally, and are surprised by how lucid and balanced you’re feeling? You need repression! Comes in three sizes and six flavours! With our short course of treatments, you too could feel like a rat in a cage again! Why express feelings when you could simmer in contempt! Buy now get ‘passive aggression for repressed people’ for only half price!”

That’s what ‘freedom of religion’ can bring you, as we have our share if crazies, too. I support a therapy for these gay christians that will turn them into gay atheists or agnostics. I’m sure they’ll benefit from it.

The ex-gay therapists can stay in business by sayng they are trresting their client for homosexual dystonia or GID both being recognized conditions in the DSM IV. And therapists are quite creative in how they get around insurance regulations…
On the positive side, it will tend to discourage a therapist from offering unwelcome therapeutic advice to their gay clients… so there is some good here.